Chapter 131

Caroline was so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as het head hit the pillow Finished with his shower, Kirk walked out of the bathroom. He found Caroline asleep on the bed with a smile on her face, as though she were having a sweet dream.

He felt the sudden urge to do something, yet he didn’t want to wake her up. In the end, he simply hugged her from behind and suppressed his urges.

“You ungrateful brat,” he muttered with a smile, kissing her gently on her lips. Doing so helped quench his desire a little.

The night passed silently. When Caroline woke up, it was already morning. She tossed and turned a little in Kirk’s arms, stirring him from his sleep. Still, he didn’t open his eyes.

His warm palms were pressed against her tummy, and he pulled her closer to him.

It made Caroline blush. “Kirk,” she murmured. She sounded sluggish, but her voice was music to his ears.

Kirk opened his eyes and moved closer to her until their noses touched. “Call me honey,” Kirk said teasingly in his raspy voice.

Caroline opened her mouth slowly as she playfully hit his chest with her fists. “No way,” she said, although she totally wanted to call him that.

Kirk propped himself up on one elbow and raised an eyebrow at her. The mole at the corner of his eye made him look as if he were trying to seduce her.

“Really? Are you sure about that?” He pinched her waist and added, “Who are you going to call ”

honey” then?”

Caroline was particularly sensitive when it came to her waist. She’d almost squealed when he’d pinched her just now. “Stop that. Dad’s waiting for us.”

This made Kirk pinch her again, and he said, “It’s so easy for you to call my dad yours, eh? Why is it so hard for you to call me “honey“?”

Caroline didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she scrambled away from him instead. “Quick, go and freshen up.”

Kirk didn’t move an inch. “Give me a kiss, and I’ll go,” he said stubbornly.

Caroline pressed a hand to her forehead. She’d never known Kirk could be so childish. Regardless, she closed her eyes and kissed him on the lips. “Now-”

Before she could finish her sentence, Kirk pressed his lips against hers and deepened the kiss Blushing, she tore her eyes away from him and urged, “Go.”

Satisfied, Kirk happily got out of bed. He had suffered the whole night trying to hold himself back Everything was worth it now that he’d received a wake–up kiss from her.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Caroline recalled the kiss and felt her cheeks start to burn Just then, her phone rang. She picked it up hastily and answered the call before even seeing caller’s name.

the When she finally glanced at the screen, she saw that it was Gwen. It made her feel guilty.

“Carol,” Gwen said, sounding sluggish as if she were sick. “Is it done?”

“Yes. Last night.”

“Sorry, I drank so much that I forgot to call you,” Gwen explained.

Caroline laughed. “Your company’s having a team–building activity?”

Gwen hesitated for a brief moment before replying, “Y–yes”

Suddenly, Gwen’s eyes widened with enthusiasm She leaned closer to the phone and demanded What’s the color code of that lipstick you have on? It’s so pretty!”

Dumbfounded, Caroline couldn’t respond. She tried to change the topic. That was when she suddenly noticed a red mark on Gwen’s neck. “Gwen, why’s there a red mark on your neck?”

Shocked, Gwen immediately moved back. It was awkward, so she covered her neck with one hand and tried to explain. “Um there were too many mosquitoes last night. I must’ve been bitten.”

“I see. Caroline didn’t doubt her. Gwen knew when to draw the line, even though she liked going out with men.

She enjoyed looking at the handsome faces of men, but pleasure and desire were entirely different. To conclude, she might have lots of ex–boyfriends, but she had never done it with them “I’m going to work,” Gwen mumbled as she covered her phone’s camera with her fingers Ill call you after work”

Caroline hadn’t questioned Gwen’s words. But once the call ended, she realized that it must be midnight back in Easton now How come Gwen had work even though it was already so late?

On the other end, Gwen’s heart was still beating wildly in her chest as she hung up the phone A moment later, she remembered the hickey on her neck and darted into the bathroom She 100ked into the mirror and saw the red mark in the reflection. She immediately tried to rub it off forcefully She knew she shouldn’t have agreed to have dinner with Sean last night..

She had been upset enough to begin with, and the alcohol had made her drunk. When she woke up, she found herself lying beside Sean Her whole body felt as though it was going to fall apart. There was no need for an explanation to know what had happened.

She didn’t have the courage to wait until Sean woke up, so she grabbed her belongings and ran away.

When Caroline and Kirk got downstairs, they saw Avery and Ivan chatting in the living room Avery noticed how red Caroline’s lips were and felt something twist inside of her The feeling was so intense that she thought she would explode at any moment Despite that, Caroline didn’t notice the change in Avery’s expression She smiled and greeted them “Good morning, Dad Hi, Ms Mendeley. Sorry, I slept in and kept you two waiting Hearing that, Ivan beamed He silently wished they would sleep longer so that he could get himself a grandchild soon “No worries. You must be hungry. Hurry and have some breakfast,” he told her He and Avery had already eaten Caroline and Kirk went to have breakfast while Avery carried on chatting with Ivan Still, she couldn’t focus during their chat, so she excused herself “Ivan, I’m going to talk to Caroline about the party1 Lowering his voice, Ivan said, “I gave it some thought last night Even if Kirk and Carrie faked their marriage, risking her life to find out the truth is simply wrong We’ll leave things as they are Avery’s expression shifted instantly. Putting on a smile, she started to speak “But-

“I won’t object if you’re just thinking of inviting them to the party. “Ivan waved his hand dismissively “But let’s leave it at that ”

His insistence made her hands ball into fists. Once again, het expression changed, but she still smiled at him “Alright, I understand. To be honest, I’ve thought about that too Even if there are prevention measures, it’s still risky Don’t worry, though I won’t do it if you don’t want me to ivan nodded and went fett. As she watched him disappear upstairs, Avery could no longer hide the hatred in her eyes.

Ivan summoned Kirk upstairs after breakfast Hence, Caroline watched the TV alone in the living room. Since the shows were in Faladorian, she couldn’t understand anything and kept switching channels.

Out of the blue, a plate of sliced fruits appeared before her. She looked up to see Avery smiling at her Even though Caroline didn’t have a good impression of her, she was Kirk’s friend. She didn’t want to make things awkward between them.

Smiling, Caroline asked, “Ms. Mendeley, aren’t you going to work?”

It was idle talk, but to Avery, those words stung. Although she smiled at Caroline, it didn’t reach her eyes. “My friend’s holding a pool party tonight Care to join?”

“I don’t like crowds,” said Caroline.

“But Kirk’s friends will all be there. Don’t you want to get to know him a little better?”

That was all it took for Caroline to reconsider the offer.